Jan. 15--A Naperville man who failed to disclose his past affiliation with the Chinese Communist Party and an alleged tie to the Chinese intelligence service has been charged with unlawfully becoming a U.S. citizen, federal authorities said Friday.
Lu Lin, 58, of the 4200 block of Colton Circle, is due to appear Thursday in federal court in Chicago to be arraigned on a charge of obtaining citizenship or naturalization illegally. Lin was indicted this past Thursday, according to the FBI.
According to the indictment, Lin provided false information on paperwork he turned in during his process of becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen.
In the documents, Lin said he had never been a member of or associated with the Chinese Communist Party and had never used any other names, according to the indictment.
But authorities say Lin belonged to the Communist Party from 1987 to 1997. They also allege that he had received identification with his photo but under the name Yung Yeung. That identification belonged to China's Ministry of Public Security, which is that country's national police force and law enforcement agency, the FBI said.
Federal authorities allege that Lin used the ID to enter Hong Kong and obtain information that he forwarded to the Ministry of State Security. The ministry is an intelligence agency responsible for counterintelligence, foreign intelligence and political security, the FBI said.
The indictment did not detail when Lin allegedly entered Hong Kong, and an FBI spokesman declined further comment. Hong Kong reverted to Chinese control in 1997 after 156 years of British authority.
According to the indictment, Lin applied for U.S. citizenship in 2005 and received approval in 2008 after a process that included two interviews. He was sworn in as a citizen in September 2008 in Chicago, according to the indictment.
Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.
